Birdwatchers sugar wash recipe

[jasfromnz]

Hi guys I made this batch,the only difference is i made it to a 25 litre batch,it seemed to take a long time in barral aprox 2 weeks (i have now got a heating pad once i put the mix into my still( T500) it started well i tried to hold temp at about 60% but found better results at about 65%,all went well at start but after while temp became hard to control and I only got about a max of 2 litres @ aprox 96% saying this it was a awesome tasting,smelling batch.I really liked this batch but has anyone got any ideas about temp on the T500 DVD recomends 55-65 and how do i get more
different yeast more suger th
thanks guys
-

[jasfromnz]

also using this recipe how much should i throw away at start of batch??? using the T500 still

[rad14701]

also using this recipe how much should i throw away at start of batch??? using the T500 still

You make proper cuts just as you would with any other recipe... There are no hard numbers... If you don't know how to make proper cuts head over to the New Distiller Reading Lounge... The question that comes to my mind is that if you don't know this, what else don't you know that you really need to know...

[seaguy]

Ditto to RAD's reply. Learning to make cuts is essential and especially so when going for the best neutrals. You need your tongue at its best for finding the start and end of Hearts so you have to dilute what you taste. The nose is good but the tongue is best. After all...its for drinkin not sniffin

[jasfromnz]

I understand what you two are saying,but like i said im newish to this game and i simple answer would have been better,im only asking to be on safe side but thanks for the advise lol

[maheel]

I understand what you two are saying,but like i said im newish to this game and i simple answer would have been better,im only asking to be on safe side but thanks for the advise lol

chuck the 1st 100ml then collect in 250ml units

expect maybe 1st and 2nd to be "heads"

and depending on where you stop the last few to be "tails"

it's WAY better to strip 3 X 25L washes quick collecting say 15L of 40% then running and making proper cuts (i would add more water to say 20L of liquid in the still)
that way you would be looking at 10-12L of great spirit once watered to 40% which would include more than 5L of "very best" hearts

well thats what i would expect from my runs

[Fastill]

I understand what you two are saying,but like i said im newish to this game and i simple answer would have been better,im only asking to be on safe side but thanks for the advise lol

Answer may not be simple but is correct. Volume is not consistant but taste and smell is for heads, hearts, and tail cuts. What they are saying is learn to use your senses to make your decisions on when to cut heads from hearts. It will make you a better distiller with better product.

[DasFriek]

Altho i use a different wash, De-stilling remains the same no matter what.
But i have seen people put time over precise higher proof cuts, Which kills me to watch. My brewing partner does this style and it makes me cringe alot.

He gets more 100-80 proof 50%-40% than i do, But i get better tasting 150-100 proof 75%-50% which some is cut to a lower proof if needed. Personally, I run the still low and slow and spend upto 8 hours at this speed and heat. He finishes in 5 hours and hes happy with that.

In saying that, My 100 proof doesn't taste the same as his 100 proof. His is close to the hearts and mine will be pushing towards the tails and anything under 80 proof i double distill when i get enough to make a few gallon batch. My 140-110 proof taste better than his 100 proof imo as both are heart cuts. Mines sweeter and smoother and more full bodied, His taste like sweet 80 proof and gives him what he likes to sip which is hooch under 100 proof. I prefer a 130-120 proof sipping liquid.

He would disagree with this post, But styles of distilling and getting the taste you want is all subjective and the cuts WILL change depending on the still temps its run at.
He uses quarts for cuts on a 10 gallon wash, I make my cuts with pints and hydrometer readings and move those to quarts after im done for perfect proof percentages i want.
We use the same exact still when we do batches over 10 gallons, I have a 5 gallon setup for single 5 gallon batches and perfect for second distills.

Head= more burn to the taste,Light sweet taste.
Heart= is smooth and sweet with a sugar wash.
tails= taste sweet and still rather strong but it finishes bad and off on the aftertaste. Yes i consider come 80 proof too much of a tail to sip and will double distill it later.

Imo this is why your getting so many answers, We all have different taste and what we want to see in our liqueur.
Patience and heat can affect a batch more than anything. I just verify my taste buds with the hydrometer as my taste buds aren't trained like i want as i like more precision than some.

[jasfromnz]

I understand about cuts(well trying to understand)all Im asking is what is a safe amount to discard before keeping.Im only asking as a guide line to start with until I get hang of cuts.Am i right in saying the first 50-100mls is nasty stuff and shouldn't be used at all?.this is simply a safety question.I know this website is a wealth of info with alot of very on to it people on here,but I am just starting out,imagine if I didn't find this site I would be following the DVD advise "throw first 50ml away and rest is a grade stuff"

[maheel]

yeah chuck the 1st 100-200 and your away

[Primevci]

Is there a way to scale this down to a smaller batch. Size

[Dnderhead]

"Is there a way to scale this down to a smaller batch. Size
just divide all ingredient's by the same...

[Primevci]

I found the calc actually but my question is let's say I do a 25l calc do I add those ingredients to 25 l of water or will it be 25 l combined

[maheel]

I found the calc actually but my question is let's say I do a 25l calc do I add those ingredients to 25 l of water or will it be 25 l combined

i do
5kg sugar
1 lemon juiced
150G Tpaste
pinch of EpS
water to +- 25L mark
yeast (2 tables spoons or so)

[Undies]

I found the calc actually but my question is let's say I do a 25l calc do I add those ingredients to 25 l of water or will it be 25 l combined

If you're talking about this calc... http://birdwatchers.freewebhosts.com.au/

Then the total volume will be 25L. So, if your container is 25 litres, you would want the final volume to be 20 (or so) litres to allow foaming, etc...

[Primevci]

one more stupid question is the yeast just normal bread yeast that i purchase at any gorecery store?

[Dnderhead]

"one more stupid question is the yeast just normal bread yeast that i purchase at any gorecery store""
yes...

[pounsfos]

one more stupid question is the yeast just normal bread yeast that i purchase at any gorecery store?

No such thing as stupid questions around here, only stupid people who don't ask them

Yes this is what we tend to use, but feel free to use other yeast strains if you want EC-1118 works well if you want to go higher in abv % but at the price yuou can get it at the store, why would you:)

[Offshore]

Hello, I’ve been using Frenchmen dry active yeast for my Birdwatchers sugar wash recipe up till now, I just ordered this yeast from Mile Hi Distilling.
SuperStart Distillers Yeast 1lb 2oz (500g) makes up to 21% alcohol by volume (ABV) one pound will make approximately 900 gallons of mash. The Birdwatchers sugar wash recipe calls for 225 grams of regular bakers yeast, how much of this distillers yeast would I use compared to the 225 grams of regular bakers yeast? Thank You

[rad14701]

Hello, I’ve been using Frenchmen dry active yeast for my Birdwatchers sugar wash recipe up till now, I just ordered this yeast from Mile Hi Distilling.
SuperStart Distillers Yeast 1lb 2oz (500g) makes up to 21% alcohol by volume (ABV) one pound will make approximately 900 gallons of mash. The Birdwatchers sugar wash recipe calls for 225 grams of regular bakers yeast, how much of this distillers yeast would I use compared to the 225 grams of regular bakers yeast? Thank You

You could use the same amount, or less if you like... It only makes a difference in the time to ferment to dry...

[jasfromnz]

ok people I have made this batch twice now and love it,i am making it in 25 litre batches if i upgrade to 100 litre batches can i then just syphine of 25 litres at a time and put it through the still?

[Bushman]

ok people I have made this batch twice now and love it,i am making it in 25 litre batches if i upgrade to 100 litre batches can i then just syphine of 25 litres at a time and put it through the still?

Yes.

[jasfromnz]

OK i made this afew times now at quarter amounts,and love it,the only thing is the time it takes nearly 2-3 weeks so I built and heat box,what is the best temp I was thinking around 32 any ideas people???,also I am using an active dried yeast would that be some of problem??also for people in NZ,im using chesea suger would other brands be any good? or they all same.If anyone in NZ could recomend a yeast that would be awesome

[frozenthunderbolt]

OK i made this afew times now at quarter amounts,and love it,the only thing is the time it takes nearly 2-3 weeks so I built and heat box,what is the best temp I was thinking around 32 any ideas people???,also I am using an active dried yeast would that be some of problem??also for people in NZ,im using chesea suger would other brands be any good? or they all same.If anyone in NZ could recomend a yeast that would be awesome

Homebrand stuff works fine, though countdown sometimes has the 1.5kg bags of chelsea for the same price per kg (.20 per 100 gms)

[wockman]

{birdwatchers}My recipe for an 80 liter wash. Ingredients as follows:

3 cups tomato paste

Juice 3 lemons

Approx. 18 kg sugar

225 grams fresh regular bakers yeast. Buy in bulk at any good health food store.

water(I use spring well water)

so the difference between this recipe and the sugar wash used by us playing the turbo game is you add juice from 1 lemon and 1 cup of tomato paste to our regular mix, so whats the reasoning behind it, doesn't the turbo still produce a neutral product anyhoo

[Offshore]

Hello, Yesterday I started a 15 gal Birdwatchers sugar wash recipe. I used these amounts.

30 lb of white cane sugar.
Juice of two lemons.
16 oz of tomato paste.
¼ tsp of Epsom Salts.
5 oz of Supper Start distillers yeast, 141.7 Grams.
Filtered water to bring it up to 15 gal.

I pitched the yeast at 103 F the package said to pitch between 90 F and 105 F.
The starting SG was 1.090, I just got done checking it now about 14 hours latter, it was working good, the temp was down to 89 F, I have not plugged in the aquarium heater yet.
What I am wondering about is the SG this morning, it was getting very close to being 1.100, it went up. Would that be the temp deferens from 103f and 89f ? I will check it in a day or two and see if it starts dropping. Thank you.

[Prairiepiss]

Yes the temp will make a big difference. Hydrometers are calibrated to a certain temp. Usually 60f. And it should have temp correcting calculations on the instructions. If not they are easy to find with Google.

[rad14701]

{birdwatchers}My recipe for an 80 liter wash. Ingredients as follows:

3 cups tomato paste
Juice 3 lemons
Approx. 18 kg sugar
225 grams fresh regular bakers yeast. Buy in bulk at any good health food store.
water(I use spring well water)

so the difference between this recipe and the sugar wash used by us playing the turbo game is you add juice from 1 lemon and 1 cup of tomato paste to our regular mix, so whats the reasoning behind it, doesn't the turbo still produce a neutral product anyhoo

The problems with turbo yeast have been well documented in these very forums should you take the time to do some independent research... Turbo yeast is merely a combination of yeast and chemical based nutrients... The concept is to overwhelm a sugar wash with an excessive amount of yeast and chemicals to achieve rapid fermentation... However, the side effects of such a rapid fermentation using excessive chemicals are heat buildup and stress on the yeast colony, both of which promote off smells and tastes... That's the short answer so I'd suggest researching further on your own time... You never know, there might be a pop quiz...

[Offshore]

Hello, Yesterday I started a 15 gal Birdwatchers sugar wash recipe. I used these amounts.

30 lb of white cane sugar.
Juice of two lemons.
16 oz of tomato paste.
¼ tsp of Epsom Salts.
5 oz of Supper Start distillers yeast, 141.7 Grams.
Filtered water to bring it up to 15 gal.

I pitched the yeast at 103 F the package said to pitch between 90 F and 105 F.
The starting SG was 1.090, I just got done checking it now about 14 hours latter, it was working good, the temp was down to 89 F, I have not plugged in the aquarium heater yet.
What I am wondering about is the SG this morning, it was getting very close to being 1.100, it went up. Would that be the temp deferens from 103f and 89f ? I will check it in a day or two and see if it starts dropping. Thank you.

Hello, as you know I started a 15gal Birdwatcher sugar wash the other day, I am a bit wired about it, it has been going for 2 ½ days now and the temperature is going up, the out side air temp here right now is 66 F and the fomenter is also out side, the temp of the wash is now 112 F with no heater going in it. Is this heating up of the wash going to mess it up or cause any off flavors? I am sure it is the yeast that is heating it up.

[wockman]

{birdwatchers}My recipe for an 80 liter wash. Ingredients as follows:

3 cups tomato paste
Juice 3 lemons
Approx. 18 kg sugar
225 grams fresh regular bakers yeast. Buy in bulk at any good health food store.
water(I use spring well water)

so the difference between this recipe and the sugar wash used by us playing the turbo game is you add juice from 1 lemon and 1 cup of tomato paste to our regular mix, so whats the reasoning behind it, doesn't the turbo still produce a neutral product anyhoo

The problems with turbo yeast have been well documented in these very forums should you take the time to do some independent research... Turbo yeast is merely a combination of yeast and chemical based nutrients... The concept is to overwhelm a sugar wash with an excessive amount of yeast and chemicals to achieve rapid fermentation... However, the side effects of such a rapid fermentation using excessive chemicals are heat buildup and stress on the yeast colony, both of which promote off smells and tastes... That's the short answer so I'd suggest researching further on your own time... You never know, there might be a pop quiz...

wasn't referring to the turbo yeast, I won't touch that, I use classic yeast, i was referring to the turbo still, so getting back to the original question, (because momma always told me Forest if you don't ask the question you will never get an answer) The only difference I can see in this recipe compared to the sugar wash I do with the turbo still is 1 Lemon and cup of tomato paste??. It appears these are used for nutrients which will only be stripped in the distillation process from the turbo still so why should I bother adding lemon and Tomato????. I have looked for a section on here which deals with issues on turbo stills only and everything is besieged "experts" whooping and hollering how good a still they built really starting to wonder if this site is for me, makes me wanna not try to progress to making my own recipes etc. A forum dedicated to people who just want to do sugar washes, with Turbo stills would be the way to go but I doubt that will happen.